VHP to arrange return to home programme

ROURKELA: The home coming of Hindus is the successful achievement of the VHP in Sundergarh district. The Viswa Hindu Parishad is vigorously pursuing the "home coming" of the tribals in the district. "We are planning to do it more intensively and in a well-coordinated manner," a VHP office-bearer said here. Since the "home coming" programme in Jharsuguda, where 350 persons were reconverted four years ago, there have been more than 15 such programmes by the VHP. A major aspect of the return to home programme is that nobody is complaining about it. The local Congress leaders are in a quandary, as they fear that opposing such mass re-conversion may not go well with the majority community. But the minorities are displeased that nobody is objecting to such practices. In the past four years, more than 2,000 tribals have gone through the process of "home coming". For a district like Sundergarh, which has a sizable population of Christians among the tribals, there is nothing to worry, with the nearer statistics given above. Still, the missionaries are scared, though they fear to speak out openly. "They are actually not Hindus, they pray to the nature. They are not subscribing to the Hindu ideology, which talks about idol worship," said a pastor posted in the district. Those who get re-converted often speak about how they had been converted to Christianity by missionaries, giving boost to the VHP programme. "They are not Christians. They are Hindus in fact. Do not call it conversion as we are just bringing them back to the fold of their ancestors' religion," reasoned a VHP activist. But to bring them back is a long and painstaking process for the organization's volunteers. The organization is bent on bringing more people back to "Hinduism."